United Cup: Bencic and Wawrinka lead Switzerland to maiden final after defeating Belgium in dramatic semi-final

Belgium's fairytale run in the 2026 United Cup has come to an end in the semi-finals with a rampant Switzerland team led by Belinda Bencic and Stan Wawrinka have reached the final with a 2-1 triumph.

It has been a dramatic United Cup so far, with big nations unable to make progress in the competition. This is not the case for Switzerland and Belgium making unlikely runs all the way to the last four. Before this year's event, each nation had never even made it out of the group phase. This record has now been toppled, and specifically for Switzerland the chance for a maiden title Down Under.

It always seems that Bencic plays her best tennis when representing her county. After leading Switzerland to Billie Jean King Cup success back in 2022, she is always the first name on the team sheet for them. She proved her worth once again as she defeated Elise Mertens 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (0).

Bencic had been unplayable at times in Australia over the past few days, having won every singles and doubles match that she has participated in. It looked that this pattern was set to continue quite comfortably as she breezed to a 5-1 lead in the first set. Mertens clinched one of the two breaks back that she needed, but that task was way too steep as Bencic took her second set point.

Four consecutive breaks in the second set left no one with any advantage. After four holds, it was Mertens who was one to step up and take her chance, wrapping up the second set with her first set point and forcing a third and final set.

Bencic looked like she was more up to the task as she went 3-1 ahead, but Mertens was not going to let her walk away with it. She saved break points to go 4-1 behind before taking a 4-3 lead in an incredible turnaround. She then squandered two break points to move her within one of the match. It would end up going to a tiebreak, in which Bencic upped the gears as she won all seven points in the tiebreak to give Switzerland a huge boost.

Zizou Bergs had experience competing for his country in the Davis Cup Finals, getting to the semi-finals. He helped Belgium repeat that fate in the United Cup, and was looking to take them that one extra step after getting the better of three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3.

There were just two breaks in the whole match, and they both went in the favour of Bergs in the first and final set. The first set could have gone completely different direction if the 40-year-old took one of the two break opportunities he mustered up. Bergs punished him and wrapped up the set. The second set went straight to a tiebreak, with Wawrinka winning the final four points to get back on level terms.

Bergs looked more likely to take the victory in the third and climatic set. There was a heap of pressure on both players to perform, but it was Bergs who produced the goods when most needed. He missed out on two breaks to go 4-2 ahead but made up for it as he snuck 5-3 ahead before getting the job done to put a lot more weight on this final doubles clash.

Bencic and Jakub Paul continued their imperious form together on court to confirm their place in the final of the United Cup, defeating Mertens and Bergs 6-3, 0-6, 10-5.

The Swiss outfit looked in control in the first set. They broke to go 3-1 ahead and saw out the set. However, their level dropped well below par in the second set as they won just 12 points in a 6-0 routing from the Belgium duo.

It put a lot of pressure on the final third set tiebreak, with the winners heading to the final. It was close at the start, with either nation unable to get that all-important advantage. When at 4-4, Bencic and Paul made their move. They won five points on the bounce to give themselves multiple chances for the match, taking the second match point to seal their spot in the final.

Bencic was in high praise for her team captain, Wawrinka, after the victory. “The team spirit is amazing and it starts with the captain," she stated after the match. "He’s supporting all throughout my match and then he goes out to play his own match and then he’s back to support the doubles. It starts with him but then with all the energy from our bench it gives us such a spirit to win."

Paul also shared his thoughts after what was an incredible week for the doubles world number 81. “It’s easy to find the energy with this team," he said. "It’s great to play with Belinda. Hats off to her to play for almost three hours and then come out for the doubles. And great job by Stan to keep Zizou as long as possible on the court.”

Switzerland are the first country to book their spot in the final. They will either face last year's champions USA or last year's runners-up Poland.